A typical example of the aforementioned neurological disorders is dementia, which is the result of causes that are broadly categorized as Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia, and Parkinson's disease. Pathologically, damage from Alzheimer's disease characteristically begins in the hippocampus, which is the memory cortex, and spreads until atrophy is seen over the entire brain. Vascular dementia is caused by cerebrovascular disease and its symptoms include impairment of mobility and of intellectual functions. A distinctive feature of vascular dementia is said to be the occurrence of “patchy mental impairment.” There are also cases of “mixed dementia,” in which both Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia are observed. Furthermore, dementia with Levy bodies (DLB), a form of dementia referred to as the third type of dementia, has been identified, in which many small gangrenous areas form inside the brain. One of major causes of these diseases is impaired cerebral blood flow resulting in insufficient supply of oxygen and nutrition to brain cells, leading to the death of cerebral nerve cells. Conventional art make use of medication, which are accompanied by some form of side effect yet virtually none have proven to be effective. An object of the present invention is to provide a means of promoting blood flow without relying on medication.
People hope to live out their lives with dignity. However, should people suffer from a cognitive disorder such as dementia when they grow older, they become prone to erratic behavior as a result of damage caused to their brain, and many of these elderly people themselves become victims of abuse due to reactions to their behavior. People afflicted with dementia occupy 10% of Japan's total population of people who are 60 years of age or over, and many face the possibility of elderly abuse. On the other hand, the significant financial and psychological burdens imposed on the family members of an afflicted person are becoming a serious social issue throughout developed countries. There are many types of treatments that utilize massage; however, massages to the brain via the head are not currently being carried out.
Related conventional art is described hereunder. Included among disorders associated with neurological diseases is depression. In a competitive society, the work environment can be quite harsh, with high levels of psychological stress resulting from severe competition between companies and very busy work-related duties. If people suffering from migraines are included, the number of patients afflicted with some form of neurological disease would be extremely large. As a conventional art, muscle massage using mechanical vibration or massage using oil applied to the surface of the body is currently carried out. However, massage conducted by applying a stimulus to the brain inside the head has not been practiced.
Among the very few references to the conventional art are descriptions by the inventor of the present invention of the general direction of the early stages of this technology in a patent application (Japanese laid-open Patent Publication No. 2005-348994) and a utility model (Japanese Utility Model Registration No. 3121595). These were model inventions, and their essential technologies were still under research and development. The present invention discloses the essence of the technologies of these related inventions. In other words, the claims of the present invention are what are widely called Jepson claims, with the parts disclosing models in the above mentioned related art as a prerequisite. This is the relationship between the related art and the present invention.
Examples of possible means to massage the brain by applying external stimuli include massage by mechanical vibration and massage using electrical stimuli. Mechanical massage is conducted by applying weak vibration from a vibrator to the head of a subject. However, this method presents a problem in that such treatment can be provided only by a skilled person, resulting in high personnel cost. Giving electrical stimuli presents a serious problem of being potentially harmful to a subject in that electrical stimuli may cause loss of memory, resulting in the possible acceleration of dementia. Therefore, in order to prevent neurological diseases, there exists a need for a safe and effective means that any ordinary person can easily operate. Therefore, an object of the invention is to provide a cognitive disorder prevention/rehabilitation apparatus to which a ceramic vibrating module that primarily uses ultrasonic waves and developed to be small and light-weight and capable of being fitted to an ordinary cap or hairband is applied, thereby preventing as best as possible the advance of these malignant disorders, and promoting the well-being of numerous people.